Looking to get a pontoon

[idahtoon]

Hello everyone. I am new to pontoon boats but not new to boats. I live in Idaho and have owned a jet boat for the last 15 years (actually 3 different ones over the years). I have found it increasingly difficult to get out with the jet boat due to distances I have to travel to get to the rivers that are fun to run with a jet boat. I have belonged to a forum for jet boats for years so I started thinking if I knew nothing about jet boats where would the best place to go for information on jet boats be? Answer; the jet boat forum. I know nothing about pontoon boats so where should I go to learn about them? pontoon fourm. So here I am. I will be lurking around reading all of your past posts to gleen information. One basic question someone can help me out with is how are the boats measured? Is a 22' pontoon the length of the pontoons or the deck or the overall length including the motor? Any info you can give to get me started is appreciated.

[HandymanHerb]

Welcome glad to have you with us, hey combine the two a make a jet toon , you would have the first I bet.

So tell us how many people you want to take with you and how are you going to be using it for the most part, fishing, family fun, pulling tubes at high speed along with the lake or river size and we can point you in the right direction to start looking.

[idahtoon]

We are a family of 4. Like to swim and fish on the reservoirs. With the other boat we could haul about 10 without being crowded and usually ended up with a number of about 8. Close by we have a very large reservoir and would like to do some summer overnighters on the boat with the 4 of us. I would kind of like it to have enough power to pull a tube around as well. I am not sure how fast a pontoon boat travels with what motor but would like it to cruise out at around 25-30 mph land speed. I like the idea of the double bimini because some of us love the sun and some of us do not.

[lakerunner696]

Did you jet the snake out of Lewiston? I love those jet boats they build there.
I recommend a 22ft, 3 log with strakes or even a 2 with strakes and no less than 115hp. 2 or 4 stroke is up to you. 2stroke is usually a lot lighter than a 4 and now almost as quiet.

Toons are measures from tip of nose to back of pontoons. A 22 should have 20 to 21 ft of deck.

Welcome and don't hesitate to ask questions as that's what us old retired tooners live for, to help a newbee

[Ray Jr.]

Lakerunner pretty much nailed it, except most of the newer toons the deck and log length are usually within a foot of the model number, our Premier 225 has a 22 foot deck. and has 23 foot 4 inche long logs. For best performance the Premier PTX package is great, the Bennington esp package, or the Manitou shp package are similar set ups.

[mike]

Welcome, what reservoir do you like to play in? I have a 21ft three log and its perfect, 115 can pull tubes, knee boards, skis (barely) and wakeboards even though it does not throw much wake. I could not be happier being able to run the boat right up onto the sandy beaches... I found my boat in las vegas, the prices in idaho are insane!

[smltooner]

Welcome to the club.

[dockholiday]

Welcome
You are prime candidate for a tritoon (shp, ptx or esp). Double bimini, 150hp minimum and if you don't get one of the three packages mentioned lifting strakes. Looking at 40 mph plus or minus on up. Basically you can do what you have before with a whole lot more room. Could not say that many years ago, but now it is available.
doc

[playcat]

For a bit more cash, look at Playcraft, Avalon or South Bay for performance toons. The manitou is a neat package, also. Playcraft will build whatever you can think of, as long as you have deep pockets!

[bassn386]

I want to address your question about length. As you can see from my signature, the model on my toon would indicate it's almost 26 feet in length. Well, I as found out after I got the boat, there are actually three separate measurements, at least from Bennington's perspective. The toon length is 25.4 feet, but the length overall (LOA) is 27.1 feet. However, that does not include the motor if it's an outboard. My slip is 28 feet deep and unless I pull the boat up to within a couple of inches of the front end, my motor is not completely under the overhang. Now most people would say so what, the motor hangs out in the breeze, no big deal. Well normally it isn't, but here in Missouri we're liable to get good size hail a couple, three times a year and I don't think hail caused dimpling of the motor cowling does much for the overall looks of the boat.
So, if it's a new boat, look at the manufacturer's specs and ask if the LOA included the motor. If it's used, measure it yourself.
Good to have you aboard.

[Bamaman]

You shouldn't worry about getting dimples on your motor cowling. They're made of a composite/plastic material, and are very tough. I keep a $30 engine cover on my engine to keep it from weathering.